Looking for even more reasons to buy a new Craftmark Home over a resale? U.S. News spoke with a handful of experts and compiled a list of nine reasons to choose a new home over a used home. They include:

Customization

Building Envelope

Green Appliances

Fewer Repairs

Less Maintenance

Warranty

Fire Safety

Concessions

Financing

To read the whole story in full detail, click here! After reading, choose from any Craftmark community to buy a better home today!

When the covenant is upheld by all the home owners in a community, ideally they can expect:

Quicker sale of homes

Higher sale prices of homes

Lower crime rates

Consistency in responsible property upkeep maintenance among all the homes

No abandoned, broken down vehicles or discarded furniture lying about the lawns running down property values

Consistency in the established design and palette coloring established by the builder throughout the community (i.e. no value reducing shocking neon colored shutters and siding suddenly appearing in an otherwise subtley painted neighborhood)

Common areas kept well maintained, attractive and well landscaped

Pools working and seasonally ready for use

Security lighting working

Playground and other commonly used leisure equipment kept well maintained and ready for use

Neighbors working together as a team and being supportive of one another

How much of this is a fact in your neighborhood starts with the individual home owner. Get involved. Pay your dues, volunteer your time, skills and efforts.

The point of a home owners’ association is primarily to maintain consistency, a sense of community, prevent properties from becoming rundown thus adversely affecting property values within the neighborhood, encourage communication to better improve the community, be supportive of neighbors, and maintain common areas.

Should I buy a house now or wait until later? This has always been a common question among first-time home buyers. It’s up to you, the home buyer, to decide when to buy.

Five Good Reasons for Buying Now:

1. In May 2009, housing starts rose by 17% over April. This surprised many economists, who were not expecting such an increase. This rise in housing starts (new construction) indicates rising confidence within the building industry. This kind of trend usually coincides with housing recovery in general.

2. Many economists are saying that the housing market has reached bottom. This means that buyers can get into a home at “rock bottom” prices.

3. Mortgage rates have been at record lows for several months now, but they are starting to rise. During the week of June 8, 2009, the average rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached their highest point in seven months. Economists expect rates to exceed 6% by the end of this year (they were around 5.3% at the time of this article). Rising rates are another good reason to buy now instead of later.

4. “First-time” home buyers who have not owned a home in the last three years can still qualify for a tax credit on their purchase, up to $8,000. Currently, this program is set to expire in December 2009. So it’s yet another reason to buy a house now, rather than later.

5. Prices are still relatively low in most cities across the United States, but this will soon change. The positive signs mentioned above will bring more buyers into the market. This will eliminate any surplus of homes for sale, which will drive prices upward once again.

Here’s what it all boils down to. Only you can decide if now is a good time to buy a house. But there are plenty of good reasons to buy a home sooner, rather than later. So give it some serious consideration!

A lot of people have the idea that one man’s loss is another man’s gain. But when it comes to foreclosures, one man’s loss may be the next man’s loss, too.

In a strong real estate market and in a strong economy there may only be a couple of foreclosures in a neighborhood at any given time. Right now, with the real estate market starting to recover, there is still an abundance of foreclosed properties in certain areas around the nation’s capital.

When you buy a house that’s been foreclosed upon, you’re buying a house that didn’t sell. The owner of the house couldn’t sell it and the bank couldn’t sell it. They’re just hoping that an “investor” like you will come along, ready to take that white elephant off their hands.

Let’s first consider the question: “What is a foreclosure?” Very simply, it’s when an individual who owns a house, has taken out a mortgage and can no longer make the payments. They couldn’t sell the house for a price that would allow them to pay off the mortgage so the bank stepped in to recoup as much as it could of what turned out to be a very bad investment all around. If you buy it, you own it, and need to pay the mortgage on an empty house that likely hasn’t been maintained.

How long can you afford to do that?

More often than not, investments in foreclosed property turn out not to be like winning a lottery, but a path to bankruptcy! You might be willing to offer more than the other speculators, but what does that tell you? All it means that all the other real estate investors in your area were not willing to put down as much money on that property as you.

Once again, you’ve got to ask yourself whether you’re smarter than all the other investors looking at foreclosures, and all the home buyers who passed up the opportunity to buy the house from a realtor or directly from the owner, and the bank or government entity currently in possession of the house.

About...

Make Your Mark with luxury estate homes, single family homes and townhomes by Craftmark Homes. Look for us in Maryland in Montgomery, Frederick, Howard, Prince George’s & Charles Counties. In Virginia, find us in The City of Alexandria & Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William & Fauquier Counties.